


shuteye

by noahloveszombies (orphan_account)



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Comfort No Hurt, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Short & Sweet, also the uncle jack mention is nothing explicit, can be read as platonic or romantic, no beta we die like men, reclaims the "not to me not if it's you" line since the source is gross
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23165413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/noahloveszombies
Summary: charlie puts off some well-needed rest in favor of janitorial duty. mac reigns him in.
Relationships: Charlie Kelly & Mac McDonald, Charlie Kelly/Mac McDonald
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	shuteye

"Dude, I really think you should go to sleep."

Mac's sitting at the bar while Charlie does the Charlie work, an arrangement they had agreed to when Mac realized being cooped up in the bar late at night and alone was driving his friend crazy. Currently, Charlie is attempting to mop the floor, but keeps zoning out or leaning on the handle as his eyes flutter shut, the tension leaving his shoulders... only to wake back up and stumble on his feet for a moment, attempting to regain the balance he lost in a feeble attempt to catch a second of rest.

"If I go to sleep, who's- wh- who's gonna do all this stuff?" Charlie asks, swaying slightly as he looks over to Mac. "Not Dennis, 'cause he doesn't do anything. Not Dee, 'cause it runs in the family. Not Frank, 'cause he's the one who passed it down to them, and not you, 'cause I'd feel like garbage if I made you do all the work."

Mac feels his expression soften with sympathy. "You wouldn't be making me," he says gently, slowly, in the 'calm-down-Charlie' tone he saves for his friend's breakdowns and outbursts. "I'll do it while you go sleep in the backroom, if you want."

Charlie looks at him oddly, hair fluffy and unkempt, his coat hanging from his unbearably tiny frame. "You'd do all this gross stuff? It's awful work, man." Mac stands from the stool, displaying their height difference, and places his hand on the mop handle, just below Charlie's.

"Not to me. Not if it's for you," says Mac in such a soft, delicate tone. He watches with a fond feeling swelling in his heart as Charlie removes his hand from the mop handle, gives him a tender smile, and stumbles off in the general direction of the back office, almost bumping into the bar counter on his way. Now how the hell is he supposed to get all this Charlie work done, lock up, and wake up early enough to slip into the bar and save Charlie from getting blasted by Dennis and Dee for sleeping in the back office again...?

It takes a little while, and a lot of effort, but Mac finally has Paddy's looking acceptable enough to be left until the morning. Acceptable was what they always managed to scrape by on, anyhow, so what difference did a little bit more clutter than usual make?

As Mac picks up the keys from the counter and stifles a yawn into his fist, he turns to the back office and slowly pushes the door open, just to make sure. Just to check if he was safe, and hadn't been kidnapped or murdered by an evil serial killer demon. He couldn't argue with such logic at one AM.

The tiny, huddled-up form in the near completely dark room, a shadowy silhouette on the couch they had dragged in just days prior, confirmed that Charlie was safe, and the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders confirmed he was still breathing. Mac sees no reason to stifle the smile on his face, and certainly no reason to stomp down on the warm feeling in his chest. It was a feeling like no other, to see him sleeping so peacefully after stressing and working himself out of his mind, rambling about rat nests and sludge.

He tried to enjoy the moments like these as much as he could, where for once, Charlie's eyes weren't wild and full of reckless abandon, and he wasn't screaming or about to scream. As he shuts the door as gently as he can and turns for the door, he fondly remembers a memory when Charlie looked just as peaceful- the day before Mac's fifteenth birthday. He had invited Charlie over for the night, but had been too excited to sleep, counting down the minutes. Charlie had fallen asleep almost the second his head hit the pillow. Mac remembers looking over at him, marveling at how tranquil he looked, completely unbothered by the Nightman (a strange recurring dream) or Adriano Calvanese. As he had looked up at the clock and realized midnight was seconds away, instead of wishing for an Omni-Bot or some cool new shirts, he found himself wishing to stay Charlie's best friend as long as possible.

Mac smiles again, to himself, as he steps outside and locks the door, rattling the door handles just to make sure. It seems like his wish had been granted, all those years ago.


End file.
